Raising The Future
by Kira8428
Summary: Free from the thermos at last, Dan is determined to exact his vengeance on Danny. A small part of him, however, still feels the need to make sure the boy becomes evil, and what better way to do that than to teach the halfa himself? Now… How does a full-ghost go about raising an infant halfa exactly? [A Sequel does in fact exist and is up]
1. Prologue

There was something indescribable about being free after so long. The feeling of one's confines, the only thing keeping them from enacting their plans, finally bursting off and freeing what they contained left a person, or a ghost in this case, feeling like they could conquer the world. And this particular ghost, who stood above broken pieces of the Fenton Thermos, probably could do just that too, but that wasn't part of his agenda. Well, not yet anyway. Maybe after he broke his past self's neck with his bare hands for trapping him there in the first place…

 _'No,'_ He thought, slowly shaking his head. _'dwell on that after dealing with-'_ The ghost's red ghost sense came from his nose, as his body readjusted to the feeling of both the extra space, and the Ghost Zone in general. Turning, a fanged grin full of deceit and cruelty formed on his face as his eyes locked with the empty gaze of the time master. "Clockwork."

"I see you're awake, Dan." Clockwork said, grip on his staff tightening as he continued to look into the other's eyes, not even risking a blink.

"Yeah… The thing is though, I'm not happy." Dan said, slowly walking towards the time ghost with intentionally loud footfalls. "I mean, the person that trapped me in that damn invention is still alive and _you_ , the reason my plan failed in the first place, are standing right in front of me."

Clockwork frowned as a silence settled over them, each one waiting to see what the other would do. The ticking of the tower seemed increasingly loud, as the quiet remained. And then, all at once, the silence was broken as Dan flew past the time ghost like lightning, and darted towards the shelf of time medallions. Clockwork, in response, pressed the button of his staff before he could reach them, and shouted "Time out!" causing the ghost to freeze, inches away from his prize.

Once that was done, Clockwork floated past the unmoving ghost, and reached for the time medallions. He planned to put them somewhere safer, somewhere the ghost wouldn't think to look, but he wasn't able. Quickly, the "frozen" ghost's hand launched forward and grabbed Clockwork's staff, sending a bout of surprise through the time master for the first time in ages. And with a simple swing, Clockwork was forced to let go of his staff and crash into a wall, his body now stuck in his adult form.

"Honestly Clockwork, you should've known your little "Time out," wouldn't work on me. I exist outside of time, just like you said. Or did you forget that little detail?" Dan asked, condescendingly. "Well, if you don't know everything, then you certainly aren't very worthy of this thing."

Taking the staff into both hands, Clockwork could only watch in horror as his staff was snapped in half with a quick knee to the center. The clock ceased ticking and it's glow ebbed away, as it was tossed to the floor like a piece of garbage. Once that was done, Dan pulled one of the time medallions off of the shelf and smirked.

"Well, I'd love to stay and chat, but I have to be somewhere at a specific time. Namely… Oh, let's say about 14 years ago." Clockwork instantly understood, and the shock must have been evident on his face, as Dan laughed. "Thanks for the ticket to a better future, Clockwork!"

With that, Dan held up the time medallion, which glowed in a blinding light before it pulled him along the path to the past, and left Clockwork alone in his tower.

Said ghost did his best to float upward, back feeling sore from slamming into his wall. He'd have to fix the dent left behind, but his staff was far more important to as of right now. Without it, his power was limited, and that certainly wouldn't be of any use to him at all.

So, picking up the pieces, Clockwork floated away from the room. He could only hope he could fix it quickly because, if the blurry fragments of alternate futures he could see alongside Dan came to pass, there might be nothing he could do.


	2. Chap 1: Death-Day

A young infant was fast asleep, curled up in his crib while snoring softly. The wind outside was gently tapping his window, and snores coming from two other rooms leaked through his bedroom's thin walls. And despite these noises the boy slept on, ignorant to the world. Well, he was, until a bright blue flash seeped under his doorway, while a new presence settled inside of the quiet home.

This presence was just as quiet, as it floated off of the floor, and through the baby boy's door to avoid making a single sound. And when the figure fully entered, the glowing white flame of hair slightly illuminating the room, the boy whimpered. Something was telling him that this man was not friendly. He wouldn't be like his mom, who didn't stop hugging and kissing him as they drove home for the very first time, and he wouldn't be like his dad, who babbled on in a funny way about how he'd become a ghost hunter in the future. No, he would probably hurt the boy, that was what his brain told him.

And yet, before the boy could cry out for the two people who could stop this man, said man took him into his arms and started to hum lowly. It filled the 2 month old with serenity and calm. Eventually, he couldn't help but fall back asleep, while the figure proceeded to pick up a bag and stuff it with the baby stuff that belonged to the boy: clothes, some bottles, diapers, a few toys, etcetera. And once the bag was filled with what was necessary, the figure threw it over his shoulder, and in another flash, he had stolen Danny Fenton.

* * *

Dan spent the next few hours waiting for the boy to wake up again. Said child was asleep on an old mattress, in the corner of a mostly destroyed lab, with a starry blue blanket thrown over him. His breaths were even, and his fingers were curled around the soft fabric in bliss. In this state, he was unaware of Dan, who had finally finished repairing the Fenton Portal he'd destroyed to prevent Danny from using it.

Well, he'd said destroyed, but it was really just a few key points in the portal that he had destroyed, ones that the halfa didn't know about. So obscure that the 14 year old would have never found them in time. And, now that they were repaired, the portal was ready to be turned on once more, though not for travel.

While exacting revenge on a human Danny would be great, hell he did so before, this plan required the boy to be a halfa. After all, a 2 month old human can hit and cry, but a 2 month old halfa can fire ectoblasts and turn invisible. One was clearly more helpful than the other. So, taking the child, who had started to stir, Dan placed the baby boy in the completed portal, and turned it on. Next, he grabbed the plug and extension cord, and smiled at the boy.

"Happy Death-day, Danny." He spoke with a fanged grin, as he jammed the plug into the socket, and caused the portal to spark.

Within moments, a green flash filled the room, along with the pained cries of a toddler. Once the light died down, Dan shut the portal off, and approached the boy slowly. He was amazed that, instead of the ecto-goop he'd partly expected, there was a small halfa before him, with brilliant white hair and glowing green eyes, screaming bloody murder.

Dan chuckled before he went to pick up the boy, only for him to turn intangible, and float through the ceiling. And, though mildly impressive, the act left Dan feeling far more annoyed than anything else. So, floating up after Danny, Dan found him wailing in the middle of a dismantled living room, where the only piece of furniture partly standing was the couch.

Grumbling, Dan lifted the boy from under his arms and leered at him. This, however, just succeeded at making the young Danny cry even louder, while also adding wiggling to get away. The growling now accompanying the leer probably wasn't helping either, so Dan sat on the couch, still holding the crying infant, and tried to think through the noise. What did he like as a child again?

Sifting through the cries in terror and the sadism that normally held his attention, the full-ghost managed to find a very old memory. He was amazed he could remember it, but he did. He could see it, himself from when he wasn't Danny Phantom, Vlad Plasmius, or Dan Phantom. He was just Danny Fenton, a young infant crying at being left alone.

And then Maddie would rush in, holding a warm bottle of formula to appease the pained cries of abandonment. It worked every time, she had told him when she was alive, so it would probably work now. So, setting Danny down on the couch, Dan proceeded to read the instructions on making the solution to his problem. As he read the label, however, he found himself becoming steadily annoyed.

"Would you shut up!" Dan snapped towards the infant, who then proceeded to cry louder. "Why am I doing this again…?"

Then Dan remembered, as the halfa continued to kick and scream with the force of a warrior. In his movements, the boy transformed back into his human form, reminding the full ghost that this was Danny. That _he_ had been Danny. That this Danny could become _him_. Maybe even _help_ him? Besides, when he inevitably goes back in time to fight the Danny who was responsible for putting him in the thermos, would it not be hilarious to see the look on Danny's face when he sees himself by Dan's side?

With that in mind, Dan gave up on trying to read the label with this racket. Instead, he adjusted the struggling toddler so he wouldn't fall off the couch with all of his squirming, and flew out of FentonWorks, quite easily seeing as it was missing the entire second floor and the majority of the ceiling. He then flew around the immediate vicinity before finding just what he needed.

Following a man towards, what Dan assumed to be was shelter, was a woman. In her arms was a bottle and blanket, while a makeshift sword was on her back. She looked ragged and tired, along with the man, so this wouldn't be hard at all.

Turning invisible and intangible, Dan snuck up to the woman, before he placed his hands near her head. Then, just as the assumed couple stopped to unlock a door, where soft snoring could be heard from the other side, Dan became visible and tangible. And within another second, the woman's head was snapped, and the makeshift sword had been jammed through both the door, and the man's chest.

With that done, Dan picked up the bottle before looking over the pale-yellow blanket. He then shrugged and threw it over his arm, before flying back to Danny, who was still sobbing, but much less now.

Heating the bottle with his powers, he held the boy as best he could, vaguely remembering how to do that from health class so long ago. He also wished that his human half hadn't slept through so much of it now, but sealed his annoyance so he could focus on feeding, and not choking, the child, whom of which had mostly stopped crying now that he was eating.

Once that was taken care of, Danny smiled at him, which was odd, to say the least. It now had the full-ghost wondering when the last time someone actually smiled at him was. The last time was probably about 10 years ago… Shaking his head, Dan took the smiling infant back downstairs, and sat with him on the mattress, putting the yellow blanket he had found over him.

And as the toddler slept, Dan also wondered what sleep had been like. What food had tasted like; he hadn't had a burger for awhile now. What had rational thought been like? Not simple remembering, or thoughts of battle tactics and murder, but of simple things. Such as how was he going to get to school on time, or what clothes he was going to wear? Granted, those things were easy to answer: he wasn't getting to school on time, and that was a choice between a T-shirt and Jeans, or some overly expensive suit.

A frown etched it's way on his features. He hadn't thought like this in years, mostly because he didn't want to. Then again, being trapped in the thermos while now holding the reminder of how you got there in the first place can change how someone thinks. _'Well, that's not good.'_

Leaving the sleeping boy on the mattress, Dan turned the ghost portal on, and decided to kill something. He _was_ raising the boy to be like him after all, and if _he_ wasn't like him, then how could Danny be? So he left the portal open, knowing something would want to investigate, and waited. Might as well get the boy used to waking up to the smell of ectoplasm now, right?


	3. Chap 2: Pretty Lights

Wiping the ectoplasm off of his face, Dan pressed the off button on the portal, feeling pleased to have blood on his hands after so long. Hell, he would have kept going, but the flow of ghosts had started to slow down, and he really didn't feel like waiting 20 minutes between fights. So, instead, he walked over to Danny's mattress to check on him, and what he saw was rather surprising.

Danny, who's blue eyed gaze was staring directly at him, was smiling and babbling. His face had little splotches of ectoplasm on it, but other than that he was clean and cheerful. Well, until he noticed that no more ghosts were coming out of the portal. Then he just raised his arms as best he could, and grabbed up at Dan.

Said full ghost chuckled and lifted the toddler into his arms, a smirk forming on his face as the baby boy giggled. "I see someone likes watching ghosts get turned into goo, don't you?"

Danny just kept laughing, unable to understand anything but the cheerful tone Dan had used, and that was enough for both him, and the full ghost.

Satisfied with said progress, Dan sat the boy down on the mattress once more before he stood up straight and cracked his back, only to hear the sounds of something metal being knocked over from behind him. His head turned around, before his body followed suit, and a sadistic grin split his features. 'Well would you look at that, rebel ghost hunters. This should be fun.'

"Well, I can't say I'm to happy that you've broken into my house." Dan started, walking towards the cowering raider, who was backing away slowly. "And while it's impressive to me that you managed to get in here without me noticing, I don't like unexpected guests. So, allow me to show you the door!"

In a flash of movement, the young man had been disarmed, and had took an ectoblast to the chest. Said blast caused him to fly backwards, and into the doorway. This caused the person who'd been using the door as cover to emerge and fire off an ectoweapon she probably found upstairs, while two others rushed from out of an indent in the wall to do the same. Dan merely threw up a shield, giving a mocking yawn at their attempts to harm him.

Danny, meanwhile, was left starry-eyed. He'd never seen so many bright flashes of color before, and watched in amazement as Dan proceeded to send some of the lights back, effectively using one to fatally wound the girl at the door.

One of the two remaining rebels grunted, and whispered to her comrade as she continued to fire. "He's gonna get tired of us eventually. Do something!"

"Er, okay, um… Distract him." The other replied, worry present on his face as she nodded and stepped out of cover.

"Hey, stop hiding behind that shield!" She shouted towards Dan, while her partner quickly made his way behind the full ghost, whom of which was giving the blandest stare towards the young woman.

"Sweetheart, it's not hiding if you can see me. Besides, do you see how open I am? Maybe you should just give up shooting. Go see your family or something." Dan said, smirk returning to his face as she glared at him.

"My family is dead! You killed them!" She shouted, unaware of the duplicate behind her, who leaned forward and whispered into her ear.

"Exactly." And with that, the intangible hand inside of her stomach released an ectoblast, causing her to explode, while the duplicate returned to Dan.

Said full ghost dusted his hands off, while also brushing off some of the raider's singed cloth on his shoulder, before he turned around to see how Danny was doing. The sight caused ringing to softly make its presence known in his ears.

"L-look," The man said, nervously holding the ectogun up to the boy's head. "I don't want to hurt this kid-"

"Then put him down if you know what's good for you." Dan said, voice low and strained, as with each passing second the ringing in his ears grew louder, while his vision was tinted red.

"I just need supplies. That's it!" The man said, taking a step backwards.

The man's shaky words and the foreboding feeling coming from Dan made the young halfa squirm and whimper. Dan took quick notice and breathed, as a very Vlad-like smirk formed on his face. One that anyone would've fallen for, except for Danny. Even as an infant, he stopped squirming to shrink under it, while the man holding him relaxed the hand holding his gun ever so slightly.

"Fine. Put the boy down, and take whatever you like." Dan said, voice thick with the kind of charm that'd won him business the world over, as well as the form of calmness that only a hero, or a hero-turned-villain, could every know how to use.

The man hesitated, but the completely unguarded look Dan held made him comply. He gently placed the boy on the mattress, only to be smacked in the face by one of the dead raider's arms. He then felt his back slam against the metal wall with a bang, leaving a sizeable indentation, while a pair of infuriated red eyes stared into his grey ones.

A twisted grin then stretched across the ghost's face, before he grabbed the man by the neck, threw him upwards, grabbed his legs, and slammed him into the ground, effectively breaking his face. "You and I are going to enjoy these next few hours..."

And for those next few hours, Danny clapped his hands and laughed. He loved the pretty lights, and fell asleep with them in mind after Dan pinched his chubby cheeks with his blood covered hand, and threw his blanket over him.

And Dan could only smile slightly. Maybe this wouldn't be as hard as he thought after all…


	4. Chap 3: Paternal Instinct

Dan smiled down at Danny, who stirred awake as sunlight spilled into the room, courtesy of the hole in the ceiling. It was the day after the raiders attacked, and Dan had cleaned both himself, and the lab, as best he could, while Danny merely phased the small red mess off in his sleep. And in that time, Dan realized he was growing closer to the young halfa.

It had only been a few days, granted, but never had Dan put as much time and effort into a relationship as he did now. And while said relationship's original sole purpose was to help scar the halfa who started this mess, Dan couldn't help but feel like it meant more now. It didn't stop it from being strange, after all Dan hadn't felt emotions like this since he was 14, but it wasn't unwelcome either. He just wished he knew where these emotions came from, and why he wasn't trying to keep them at bay while shaping Danny.

A yawn sounded from the mattress, alerting the full ghost to Danny's waking, as well as answering his unvoiced question. The boy was looking up at him, arms reaching out in an uncoordinated fashion, with blue eyes wide and curious. And as Dan walked forward, hardly realizing that he was picking up the child, he knew it was some form of instinct.

Some form of instinct that made his very core hum with the need to protect the halfa and train him. It brought a small smile to the ghost's face, as he held Danny up under his arms. He then pulled the boy towards his chest. "Let's go for a fly."

With that Dan flew through the ceiling, chuckling as Danny's eyes widened at them being so high up. The child then proceeded to smile and laugh, his small arms flailing up and down like a drunk bird. Dan couldn't help but laugh at that, fangs catching both the sunlight, and Danny's attention. Thus, the boy decided to reach for the man's mouth and pull on his tooth.

Dan, who'd calmed down from his laughing fit, brushed the small hand aside and smirked down at the ghost child. "Don't worry; I'm sure you'll get a pair soon. After all, you are so much like me. Heh, I guess I'd be kind of like your dad now. Can you say Dad?"

Danny giggled, as he was being slightly bounced while the man spoke, before he waved his arms again and spoke with a cheerful voice. "Dadda! Dadda! Dadda!"

This made the full ghost's eyes widen slightly. He hadn't been expecting the boy, who was only 2 months old, to actually understand him, let alone respond. Still, it was progress… A very nice feeling progress. The kind of progress that made Dan smile and speak in a low, calm, voice. "Yeah… I guess I am your dad now."

After ruffling the boy's hair, Dan continued their flight with Danny shouting "Dadda!" over and over along the way, neither of them noticing that a ghost had been watching them, just outside of their sensing range. It then turned intangible, and left to relay the information he'd just acquired; a weakness.

* * *

Dan sat on the couch he'd brought into the lab, holding Danny so he could feed him. It was getting late now, the sun having set about 30 minutes ago, but Dan was doing his best to keep the young infant awake and happy. After all, he didn't want him to be upset during this moment.

Once Danny had finished eating, Dan tossed the empty bottle to the side and covered the boy's eyes, only to fly out of the hole in the lab ceiling.

Dan then perched himself on one of the remaining buildings capable of supporting itself, and held Danny in one arm before uncovering his eyes. He then watched the boy gain some form of twinkle in his eyes, as he looked up at the starry sky above them.

The beautiful twinkle of star light, however, was nothing to the moon. It's silver rays of light allured the young halfa, and he couldn't help but reach his small hands upwards and try to grab it. And Dan, deciding to humor him, held the boy up so he could make some vague attempt at said task. And though he wasn't able to reach the orb, his actions had tired him out considerably, and the young halfa eventually fell asleep.

Once he did, Dan decided to sit on the roof for a few more minutes, and look at the sky as he used to so long ago. It was a lot nicer than he'd remembered, probably from the lack of pollution and city lights now that Amity Park was, more or less, one great big wasteland. 'Who would have thought killing so many people would benefit the world's atmosphere. I should wipe out cities more often.' He thought, just as his ghost sense went off.

Before he could react however, an ectoplasmic fist accompanied by the sound of an electric guitar slammed into his chest, sending the full ghost flying backwards and into a wall. The sound was also enough to wake Danny, and cause him to start crying, which really wasn't helping Dan pull himself together.

"You know, you could've just said "Hello," right?" Dan quipped, as he rubbed his head while looking up, only to realize he was surrounded by a group of ghosts. He then smirked sadistically. "Is it my birthday, or did you all just feel like dying today?"

"Save it Phantom." Ember spoke up, leering down at the man and crying infant before she smirked. "We heard around the ghost zone that you got a new addition, and it turns out it's true."

Dan's joking expression left his face, leaving behind one of serious warning. "I wouldn't attempt this if I were you."

"It's only fair, Phantom. After everything you took away from us," She said, the other ghosts charging their attacks. "I think it's only fair we take away everything from you!"

In a flash of movement, attacks were launched at the full ghost from all sides. From ectoblasts to punches and clawing, everything was being thrown at him. And, though he loathed to actually admit it, he was having trouble deflecting everything, especially with one hand. Though it was only as he'd missed a clawing strike from Johnny's shadow did Dan notice he was getting help.

Blasting the Box Ghost in the face, Dan chanced a glance down at the halfa in his arms, and was amazed to see him creating shields every time his ghost sense went off. It was a skill to be refined later, but at the moment Dan just had to make sure he and Danny made it to later first.

Firing another ectoblast at Ember, Dan was then taken by surprise. A cubicle prison of ectoenergy clamped down on him, just as Kitty managed to retrieve the young Fenton from his grasp. She then smirked, floating down to watch Dan, holding the halfa, who seemed to be growing steadily more concerned.

Dan snarled, red eyes glowing with ferocity. "Let him go."

"I don't think so." Kitty said, handing the small child over to Johnny.

"I said-" Dan was cut off by his own screaming, as electricity pulsed through his system. And when it stopped he could only sit there and pant, feeling to drained to even attempt his ghostly wail.

He could only watch as the ghosts prepared to kill Danny, the boy's cries sounding more desperate and terrified with each passing moment. And then the crying turned to sobbing, as energy pooled in the boy's chest, while claws prepared to slash him open.

And just before the claws could pierce his skin, a burst of green energy erupted from the infant and sent all of the ghosts flying into walls, and off of the building. All that was left was a shell-shocked Dan and several unconscious ghosts. As well as Danny, who'd used the last bit of his energy to fly back into Dan's arms and snuggle up into his chest, reverting back to his human form.

Shaking off his shock, Dan hugged the boy tightly while his mind ran rampant with rage. He then secured the boy with one arm and floated upwards, eyes empty as he watched the group of ghosts get to their feet.

"You know," Dan started, his calm voice shaking as he contained the majority of his anger. "I'm not the worst guy ever. I mean, I let you live up to this point in time, and we provided each other with entertainment. But then you go and do the one thing that I've always hated."

Ectoenergy crackled in Dan's free hand, the movement of the electricity being sporadic, quick, and chaotic, much like his hair. "You threatened the one, singular, being on this entire planet that I actually care about. And now… Well, now I have to kill you."

The slaughter then began, not ending until sunrise the following morning, when the yellow rays caused the ectoplasm to shine in it's light. It also casted it's natural spotlight on Dan, who sat on a rock with the sleeping child in his arms.

His hair now burned like a calming campfire, as he stared off into the distance with a deep frown on his face. He was covered in the green fluid, but it hardly held his attention. What did hold his attention however was a thought, or rather a vow. A vow he'd never break, as long as he existed. And that vow was:

"No one will ever hurt you again, Danny. I promise."


	5. Chap 4: Birthday Presents

"What's that?"

"That's a tree, Danny."

"Mm… What's that?"

"That's a lake, Danny."

"And what's that?"

"That's a corpse, Danny."

"It looks like a person." The boy stated from his spot on Dan's back. "Only it's not screaming and wiggling."

Dan floated down to the dead body Danny had pointed out and nudged it with his foot, causing it to roll over and leak blood all over the pavement. "Well what do you know; it isn't. Do you want to find one that does scream, or do you want a different birthday present?"

Danny looked up, seeming to take the question into serious consideration, before he climbed fully onto the man's head, his green eyes locking with Dan's red ones as he held the sides of the man's face so as not to fall off. "Can it be both?"

"Sure, I don't see why not." And with that, Dan continued hunting for the perfect birthday present for his child.

It had been a few months ever since the band of ghosts attacked Dan and Danny, and since then Dan had done nothing but his best to help the boy mature. Granted, it was difficult seeing as the only thing he knew about children was what Danny and Vlad knew about children, and seeing as one found them annoying and the other was a teenager, he might as well have had no knowledge about them at all.

Still, Dan managed to get the boy through his first year mostly unscathed, and he counted that as an achievement in and of itself. Though he impressed himself even more when he managed to teach the boy how to talk and walk, while also helping him transform into his ghost half at will. The best part of it all, however, was that Danny was perfectly happy about the whole killing people thing, which really shined through whenever he said his favorite word.

"Victim!" The boy shouted, pointing to a young woman ducking behind a building.

Dan smirked, turning himself and Danny invisible before he flew down and into the back alleyway. And then he waited, watching as the woman proceeded to get situated with a small band of survivors, none of them armed except for one man, who was clearly their leader and the strongest of them all.

"I still can't believe it." One woman mumbled, pulling a curtain that she'd made into a makeshift blanket around herself and her child. "Why would he come back? After a year of silence and peace, _why_ would he come back?"

"Does it really matter?" The leader asked, cocking an old shotgun. "The only thing we need to worry about is the fact that he's back, and that we need to stay alive. If we can get him out of the city, and get the shields working again, we'll be able to do just that."

"Geez, what is this? Some cheesy apocalypse movie?" Dan spoke up, causing the man to leap up while his assumed family cowered. "Honestly, you're one man and a group of chickens. And, unlike in the movies, the plot isn't around to save you from something that would clearly kill you."

Dan then revealed himself, leaving Danny invisible, while giving them a fanged grin. He then chuckled as he started to descend and walk towards them. "Actually, it's _very_ much the opposite."

When the ghost took another step forward, the leader seemed to realize that he probably shouldn't just sit there, and shot at the ghost with his gun, only for a ghost shield to quickly emerge and stop it. This made the man flinch and take a step back.

"You know, even if that did hit me," Dan started, picking the bullet off of the ground to hold between his fingers. "It wouldn't have done anything."

And then, with a flick of his thumb, the shotgun bullet hit the leader straight in the forehead, making the family scream and Danny giggle. The only person not making noise at this moment actually, besides Dan who was just radiating smugness, was the child wrapped in the curtain.

He had the blood of the fallen man on his face, and seemed to be in a state of shock. That shock broke quickly however, as he threw the curtain off and ran up to the full ghost. Tears were streaming down his face as he proceeded to throw several feeble punches at the man, only for them to be stopped and for his body to be lifted off of the ground.

"And what, please tell, was that going to accomplish?" Dan asked, before he glanced over his shoulder at the invisible child, ignoring the mother pleading for him to not kill her child. "Danny, why don't you take this one. Fire an ectoblast, just like I taught you, and aim right for the space between the eyes."

"Okay!" Danny chimed, becoming visible as he aimed a beam, though it didn't exactly hit him where it was supposed to. "Ah, I'm sorry!"

"Oh, it's fine Danny." Dan said, turning to look into the fear-filled eyes of the young boy with sadistic glee. "Frankly, it will be much more fun with him like this. After all, paralysis doesn't keep him from being able to tell what's going on. It just means he can't do anything about it."

Dropping the child to the ground, making sure he had an excellent view, Dan then created a shield around the alley way and formed a ball of ectoenergy in his hand. He then glanced at the unmoving boy, and then Danny, before he spoke. "Enjoy the show…"


	6. Chap 5: Celebration

Dan smiled an honest smile, watching as Danny played with the rattle he'd fashioned out of a can and some bones from the small group of survivors. It was a very childish gift, especially since the one year old was growing so quickly and knew so much, but that didn't stop Danny from liking it so much. In fact, he hadn't stop playing with it since the full ghost gave it to him.

"You know, you still need to say "thank you," right?" Dan asked, making the boy look up from his new toy.

He then smiled, revealing the slight fangs his ghost form had, and hugged the rattle to his chest. "Thank you!"

Dan chuckled, sitting next to the boy as he returned his attention to the rattle. He was quickly getting used to his ghost form, and said form was already showing the desired traits of a malevolent ghost. The boy would have red eyes before he knew it.

And other things were changing before Dan knew it to, including himself. Heck, a few months ago Dan would never have allowed himself to show compassion for anyone, let alone enough to raise a child. Nor would he have set foot in FentonWorks without destroying something. But now... Well, now he was raising a child and had turned the lab into a home. It almost made him forget why he was doing this… _Almost._

"Time out!" The sound rang through the lab suddenly, taking Dan by surprise.

And as Clockwork proceeded to emerge, Dan took the time medallion he'd been keeping with him and placed it around Danny's neck. This made the boy blink, before shifting his gaze upwards, and towards the time master. He then frowned, not liking the man for some reason.

"Clockwork, how nice to see you." Dan said, standing with Danny in his arms. "I see you fixed your staff."

Clockwork didn't say anything to that, instead choosing to narrow his eyes at the man while holding his staff tightly. His body didn't cycle through ages either, instead staying as an elder, seeming to only emphasize how little power he currently had.

Dan just smirked at the man. "So, what are you doing here? Did you come to have cake with the birthday boy?"

"Dan, I do not enjoy your company, and the only reason I'm about to say what I am is because I care about the time stream's stability." Clockwork began, before heaving a heavy sigh. "Now, as you know, your body exists outside of time. Therefore, you aren't supposed to be here. Your being here at this moment has caused a drastic change in things. As of now, this timeline is broken beyond repair. This place has a past, but no stable future. Therefore, if anyone were to come here that hasn't been brought here by you, they would be able to corrupt the other timelines and destroy them by leaving."

After processing that, and then repeating it a few times in his head for clarity, Dan asked. "And this has what to do with me, exactly?"

Clockwork frowned. "It has less to do with you, and more to do with Danny. More specifically, the 14 year old version of Danny who will be arriving here soon to try and stop you, now that he knows you are free. And if he comes here, he will not be able to leave without corrupting the timelines. And, since I cannot prevent him from coming here, I need you to kill him."

Dan blinked, taken aback by the request. "Really? Well, I was planning on doing that anyway, so why tell me now?"

"Because I care about the boy too much for him to just stay here, miserable because he can't go home without harming anyone or wiping them from existence, and I won't kill him myself. And I also know you won't leave him alive; it's not how you work." Dan chuckled at those words, unable to agree more.

"Fine; I'll isolate and dispose of this little problem for you, but you owe me." Dan said, smirking at the lifeless stare he received.

And after a brief moment of silence, Clockwork sighed and pressed the button on his staff. "Time in…"

And once the time ghost was gone, Dan looked down at Danny, who was still frowning at where Clockwork had been, before he proceeded to bounce him. "Come on, cake time."

"Yay!" Danny cheered, as the duo made their way out of the lab.


	7. Chap 6: Altercation

Dan sighed, lounging in the dark sky with Danny sitting on his stomach. It was late at night, the day after Danny's birthday party, and the two of them had decided to do some stargazing, as the sky was crystal clear for once, with pale moon beams shining down on the ruined city below, leaving an eerie glow on everything it touched.

It was truly peaceful, with nothing but the sounds of wind and nocturnal animals around them, which was also making Danny nod off every so often. In fact, the only reason he was still awake was because of the stars and the moon, which he would fight for his life to keep staring at. Sleep wasn't an option at the moment.

Dan, however, thought it was an option, and would have started to descend so he could get the boy to bed, had a blue flash of light not brought his attention down to the streets below. His ghost sense then went off, along with Danny's making him frown.

"Danny, hold on." Dan said, and the boy nodded as he climbed onto the man's back and gripped his cape tightly.

Once the boy was secure, Dan turned him invisible and floated in the direction of the flash. He then smirked, turning himself invisible as he watched Danny, 14 year old Danny, with Sam and Tucker by his side, looking around to see if they were in the right place.

"Danny, I still don't think we should be doing this. You heard Clockwork; he told us how bad an idea it was." Sam said, but Danny didn't hear a word.

Instead, he walked forward and looked up at the demolished FentonWorks. His blue eyes were haunted for a brief moment, only for it to disappear with the shake of his head. He then allowed white rings to wash over him and transform him into his ghostly half, before turning towards his two friends.

"I have to do this, Sam. If not for the world, then for me." Danny said, before he proceeded to hover above the ground.

And as teen Danny explained his plan to his friends, the younger Danny, who was attached to Dan's back, whispered into his father's ear. "Dad, who are those people? Why does that one look like me?"

Dan narrowed his eyes. "People who don't like me. Hold on tight, and stay hidden."

Once Dan felt the boy nod, he jumped off of the building and turned himself visible. And in a flash of movement, he sent the unsuspecting halfa into a brick wall with one swift kick. This caused sounds of surprise to emanate from Sam and Tucker, followed by the powering up of ectoweapons.

He then spins around and shoots goop down at the two teen's feet, distracting them enough to allow Dan to encase them in ectoenergy. And it is then that Dan takes notice of something, and feels different.

Fear, though not from himself, and mostly not from Sam and Tucker, but from the young toddler strapped to his back. The boy was shaking, having clearly heard the ectoweapons and seemed to have noticed how close they were to firing. The mere thought made Dan snarl at the two, causing them to flinch and struggle against their bindings.

Though it's while Dan is focused on growling when Danny bursts free from his concrete trap and launches himself forward, firing a beam of ectoenergy. He's surprised however, when the distracted ghost seemingly puts up a ghost shield, before he realizes he is being attacked and turns, launching a beam of energy right into Danny's chest.

And at the sight and sound of Danny being sent into yet another building, the young toddler on Dan's back couldn't help but giggle. Said sound also made Sam and Tucker extremely confused, as they tried their best to look for the source while being immobile.

Meanwhile, Dan stepped in front of the already bruised halfa, and smirks down at him. In response, Danny glares and spits out a green and red fluid, along with one of his teeth. "Are you done smacking me into buildings?"

"Oh, not even close." Dan replied, his smirk widening into a grin.

With Dan distracted, however, he unknowingly released Sam and Tucker from their bindings. And, thinking quickly, Tucker grabbed one of the ecto-guns and fires at the full ghost's back. Though it's a shock to everyone when Dan doesn't yell out in pain, but rather Danny. 1 year old Danny, who was crying in agony.

Turning in a panic, Dan checked the boy's back for any injury, and his hair burns like an inferno upon seeing the toddler's blood and ectoplasm. He then shifts his gaze to Tucker, who seemed to be willing with all of his might to turn invisible.

"Trying to kill me, I can deal with that. Everyone wants to do it; it's a fad." Dan started, marching towards Tucker with nothing but loathing in his eyes. And he doesn't even bother facing Sam; all he does is throw her into the shell-shocked Danny, knocking the wind out of both of them. "But trying to kill my son!? Honestly _Tuck_ , I didn't know you were suicidal."

Dan then smirks sadistically, hearing Danny giggle slightly while his crying slowly ebbed away. And to help cheer him up further, the full ghost proceeded to tickle the boy and say. "Does Danny want to see Tucker shit out his spine? Yes he does! Yes he does!"

Meanwhile, Tucker's face was growing more and more green. So, Dan decided to help him out by spin-kicking him into a nearby wall. And this manages to snap teen Danny out of his shock, as he quickly flew over to check on Tucker, feeling relieved to see that he was only unconscious, but not for much longer it would seem, if you had asked a doctor.

He then looked away from his friend, and towards Dan with anger and confusion. "Why did you call me your son?"

Dan smirked, adjusting the toddler in his arms to draw Danny's attention to him and make his jaw drop to the floor. "Why else?

* * *

 **AN: So, normally I don't write author's notes. Truthfully I ignore most of them, especially if the story is completed or they are their own chapter, but this is important for current readers. My computer is broken, and I was lucky enough to have this chapter saved and accessible via my phone. Unfortunately however, this means updates will be much less frequent since editing through small touch screen is a nightmare. I apologize for the inconvenience, and hope to get back to my regular schedule soon. Though while I'm writing this, I just wanted to thank the people who've favorited and reviewed this story. It really means a lot, and I'm sorry to make you wait for the rest of this story. I'll update as soon as I can.**


	8. Chap 7: Cessation

Danny couldn't believe it, but there it was. Right in front of his very eyes was himself, only a year old, in the ghost form he didn't get until he was 14, being held by Dan, his evil future self. Not only was this the most horrifying thing Danny had ever seen, but it was also the most headache inducing. The only thing he could question was how the hell it happened.

"You know," Dan's voice broke the halfa out of his thoughts. "as much as I'd love to stare at your dumbfounded face all day, I have places to go, people to see, and things that you care about to erase. And since you injured someone I love, I think I should return the favor."

With that the full ghost shifted his attention to Sam, who was rushing to prepare the ectoblaster that Tucker had dropped. He then smiled wickedly, all while the small child he had placed back on his back laughed and smiled with every step towards the goth teen. And every step also filled the child's older, halfa, counterpart with rage.

Kicking the gun out of Sam's hands, Dan smirked down at her with fangs gleaming like sharp daggers. His foot was also pressed firmly into her back, keeping her from getting up or rolling away. And this moment, this short moment of stillness was the moment Danny flew forwards with eyes full of focus. His heart was pounding in his ears, and he hardly even realized that he wasn't breathing. All he could think of was saving Sam.

But he couldn't make it in time. He wasn't fast enough. He wasn't strong enough. He was only capable of watching Dan bring his heavy boot down on the young girl's spine, paralyzing and possibly killing one of Danny's dear friends.

And this caused Danny to cease flying and fall to his knees, tears welling at the corners of his eyes. He shook his head at the sight, unable to think clearly anymore. All that plagued his mind was sorrow and hate. And with each passing moment those feelings began to build. They, along with a distinct feeling of weakness, began to reach overwhelming proportions.

"Hey, don't worry." Dan said with his predatory grin, turning to the broken halfa before he proceeded to take a step closer. "You'll be with her soon."

"Sam… Y-you killed Sam…" Danny said, though mostly to let that fact sink in as his emotions continued to boil.

"Well, she may not be dead. She could just be paralyzed." Dan said, shrugging before he felt a small building of energy behind him. He then glanced over his shoulder, smiling when the infant shot a small beam of ectoenergy right through the goth's heart and then proceeded to laugh at the sudden appearance of the red color. Dan chuckled. "Never mind."

A dull ringing made it's presence known in Danny's head, as he unconsciously proceeded to step forwards. The green of his eyes held a brighter glow to them, and the faint glow that normally clung to his skin seemed all the more eerie. And while Danny didn't know what this meant, Dan knew quite clearly what the boy was feeling.

Unadulterated rage.

And it was as the full ghost was being approached by his past counterpart that Tucker decided to pull himself out of his unconscious state. He lifted his head and groaned at the dull pain in his head and back, before he took in the situation before him.

Dan stood calmly, the small child on his back having dug his face into the ghost's cape, seeking safety, while Danny continued to move forwards in a blind fury. And it was as this occurred that Tucker glanced to the left, his stomach doing flips as he watched Sam, lying motionless with her chest covered in crimson blood. It was clear that they had to get out of here.

So, with the three distracted, Tucker snuck his way over to Sam's body, clutching his stomach at the sight of her before he regained his focus. He then reached for the ectoblaster she had rushed to prepare, and carefully removed it from her slowly cooling fingers, of which had made a dying effort to grab the weapon once more before lying where they did now.

Meanwhile, Danny had gathered a substantial amount of energy in both of his hands, and now stood only a few feet from his adversary. Dan continued to stand, and the two waited for further movement- Danny waiting for the slightest change in the environment to set him off, and Dan merely wanting the smug satisfaction of Danny's attempt not working.

All was still, save for the faint dripping of water from a nearby pipe, and the soft clicking of Tucker's hands working on the ectogun. Not even the cool wind 's howl made a sound much higher, seeming more like a whisper than the roar of a beast.

And then the silence was broken, as Tucker hoped his plan worked beyond all hope. He fired the gun, successfully hitting Dan in the shoulder and making Danny fire his ectobeams in a shocked daze. And while Danny missed, Dan had been successfully paralyzed by the gadget, leaving him on the ground and unable to move.

"Quick, Danny! Take off your time medallion!" Tucker said, making the halfa blink as he remembered the shiny necklace hanging underneath his shirt.

Danny nodded, grabbing the medallion as Tucker removed both his and Sam's. He then threw it off, with little to no regard as to where it landed, allowing the three of them to return to their own timeline.

Dan, meanwhile, finally managed to sit up and glare daggers at the vacant surroundings. Or near vacant anyway, as the toddler he'd been taking care of flew into his lap and gave him a gaze of concern. Dan managed to force a smile despite his face feeling numb, and ruffled young Danny's hair. He then sighed, returning his gaze to the spot where his past had disappeared.

"Well, Clockwork is going to kill me if the destruction of time doesn't first." Dan mumbled, before looking up at the sky, thinking to himself. 'Damn, I'm a terrible superhero.'

Danny pouted at the tone Dan had used before he reverted back to his human form and said sternly. "Dad, I'm hungry."

Looking back down at the boy, the full ghost blinked before he chuckled. "Alright, we'll get some food. And, after that, why don't we go after those two? Want to find another victim?"

Danny smiled, raising his arms high as he cheerfully replied with a single word. "Victim!"


	9. Chap 8: They Doubt

"You're kidding me, right?"

Dan stood in the center of Clockwork's tower, the time ghost having brought him and 1-year-old Danny there after the two had settled back in the remains of the FentonWork's laboratory. Danny was currently amusing himself with some levitating blocks Clockwork had provided, while Dan just stared at Clockwork as if the ghost had just sprouted a pair of legs.

"I'm not the type of person to "kid," and you know this." Clockwork said, his body now switching between his adult and elderly forms as he moved his staff and activated one of the many screens that displayed the various timelines. This one in particular showed Danny and Tucker, along with several other people, attending the late Sam Manson's funeral. Though it's as her casket is being lowered that ghostly portals make themselves present in the sky. "You need to fix this. If I go, who knows what would become of me, and if I don't exist there will be no one to keep the rest of the timeline stable."

"And why do I have to do it? I'm sure there are plenty of other Danny's out there who are just as strong as I am." Dan argued, wanting nothing more than to leave this damned tower and either kick 14-year-old Danny's ass, or get 1-year-old Danny to kick 14-year-old Danny's ass. Frankly, both sounded very appealing, much more so than fixing some holes in space-time.

"Well, besides the fact that it was you who weren't able to kill Danny," Dan rolled his eyes at the statement, feeling like the ghost was just pouring salt in the wound at this point. "but you're the only person on the same time frequency as Danny, meaning no one else will be able to interact with anything in his timeline without creating more time anomalies than there already are."

Dan blinked, while idly wondering how many times the word "time" could be used in a single sentence. "English?"

Clockwork's grip on his staff tightened, but he kept himself calm otherwise. "You and Danny have come from the same timeline, therefore you can go there without completely destroying it."

"I still don't see why I need to go there. If my timeline is already a mess, how is this going to affect me?" Either Dan was getting lucky with his button pushing today, or Clockwork's staff had more control over his emotions as once thought, as it had suddenly become a scythe aimed at the full ghost's throat.

"If," The ghost started with ferocity, earning the attention of a worried young halfa. "that timeline is not repaired, then not only does it go, but every other timeline connected to it. And guess who's timeline is still holding on to that one by a thread... And, eventually, all the timelines connected to those two will disappear and continue to until all of the timeline and everything connected to it are gone! Now polish off that hero complex, grab your adopted past self, and fix this! Because if you don't, not only will you return to a prison of my design, but I will wipe the child out of existence!"

At the threat towards the toddler, who was now making his way towards the situation, Dan snarled. The two leered into each other's eyes, sparks practically flying between them, before Dan sighed. "Fine, I'll save your "precious" timeline, but if you harm my kid the timeline will be the least of your worries."

Dan had bent down to pick up the small toddler, who would then proceed to climb on his back, when a wicked idea slithered its way into the forefront of his mind. A thought that caused the corners of his mouth to pull back in a dark smile and make his eyes flash crimson red. Turning back to Clockwork, who now felt a heavy weight on his core, Dan spoke. "Actually... If you really want me to go through with this, I'm going to need your help."

The weight became cold, and Clockwork now longed to see this timeline's future. To see what the sadistic ghost's wants truly were. To see what he could do to not go through with them once he heard them, as the longer Dan talked the more cold he felt, despite his ghostly body. And when the time ghost finally forced himself to agree, he could only lean against his staff and curse himself a thousand times. "I should never have hoped to see him change... I shouldn't have been such a fool... Why didn't I interfere?"


	10. Chap 9: They Weep

Danny sat on the roof of the Casper High building, his legs dangling over the edge as he watched the panic below. His parents were off with the Fenton's Ghost Assault Vehicle, or their RV, fighting off the mysterious ghosts that had begun pooling in the city once the portals appeared. Apparently Vlad was also helping, if the faint ectosignature Danny could feel was anything to go by, but the teen halfa really couldn't care any less.

Once Sam's funeral was over, the halfa just floated off into a more quiet location, not really certain or caring if anyone had seen him transform, and started to stare off into the sky. A heavy feeling had been placed inside of his heart as soon as he watched Sam breath her last breath, and it's weight only increased as he continued to replay the images over and over in his mind, the story becoming more twisted and painful as he continued to think.

His mind was filled with thoughts like _'You weren't strong enough to save her,'_ and _'If you weren't ever around she'd have been alive and happy.'_ And those thoughts then spiraled into _'Was she ever really happy being your friend?'_ And _'Technically you killed her, didn't you? You're the reason all of this happened.'_ And once Danny had mournfully talked himself into it, he found himself crying into his hands.

"What kind of person am I!?" Danny shouted to the sky, earning sideways glances from the people beneath him before they continued fleeing from the ghostly horde.

"Why, you're not a person at all." A disgustingly familiar female voice spoke up from behind Danny, making him lift his head out of his hands and glare at the space in front of him.

Not turning around, Danny spoke with a venom he could practically taste. "What do you want, you old hag?"

"Aww, what's the matter?" Spectra's form suddenly appeared before Danny, a sinister smile on her face as she looked into the eyes of the broken boy before her. "Are you upset about your friends little _accident?_ "

Danny snarled, and would have felt concerned had he not ignored all rational, or irrational, thought and blasted the woman into the next county. He then took several calming breaths as he lowered his hands and continued to stare into the direction Spectra had been launched. "I hate therapists... What the-?"

While it had taken a moment, Danny finally took notice of his hands. The skin was slightly burned, healing very slowly due to the ghostly energy, but the fact that he had been burned, by his own ectoblast no less, meant that the halfa was currently in his human form. And as shocking, cool, and worrying as that was, Danny could only back away from the ledge, collapse to his knees, and cry. "I'm not a person... I'm not a person... I'm not a person..."

* * *

Dan watched his teen counterpart break down and into tears from his place in the sky, and actually cringed. He remembered how he saw Spectra in the past, and he knew his teen self hated her and would always hate her, but he never thought the boy would hate her enough to gain strength from it. 'Well, isn't that ironic.' He thought to himself, before he heard a faint kind-of-growl coming from behind him.

The young toddler on his back was in his ghost form, though his eyes were a deep crimson red, rather than toxic green, and seemingly sought blood and revenge. And when the two locked eyes, Dan couldn't help the smirk that formed on his face as he nodded and said in a whisper. "Victim."

At those words the toddler flew down towards Danny as fast as he could, crimson red energy surrounding his small hands, as he yelled out in anger towards the one who hurt him and his father. This made the brooding older halfa look up in surprise, only to be punched in the face and sent a few feet backwards, and into an air vent.

"Agh, what hit me?" Danny asked, looking up and into the red eyes of the younger version of himself, full of an eerily protective rage. It was twistedly familiar...

The boy didn't respond, he only rushed forwards once more and smacked his teen self in the chest with an ectoblast, causing him to land, unconscious, right in Dan's hand. The boy then started to breathe more heavily, his eyes turning green again as he floated into the full ghost's arms and returned to his human state, just as the older halfa did.

"Well, that was easy... One down." He said, flinging the larger of the two Dannys over his shoulder. _'And once he's dead I can go Tuck hunting.'_

Flying to a more secluded area of Amity Park, Dan smirked to himself. The 1-year-old he held around the middle flapped his tired arms in the wind, seeming to enjoy the cleaner air of the past Amity, all the while 14-year-old Danny peacefully slept on the arm of his reaper. His own personal Death. And the thought caused Dan's smirk to widen into a smile. 'Looks like you're becoming a full ghost after all, Danny.'


	11. Chap 10: They Bleed

When Danny next awoke, the first thing he felt was the, eerily familiar, rope-like texture of ectoplasmic bindings scraping his wrists and ankles. And, as he opened his eyes, he could make out the faint outlines of seemingly dense trees and three other figures in a clearing with him. The first was very tall, with hair that seemingly casted a white glow on the surrounding area, while the second was a small and unidentifiable blob lying by the third. The third seemed much shorter, and was leaning against a tree just opposite of Danny.

"Well, well, well," A familiar deep voice spoke up upon the halfa's awakening, making Danny's skin crawl and his senses go on high alert. His eyesight cleared, and he was met with the bone chilling scene before him. "I see you're finally awake."

Dan stood above him, hands crossed neatly behind his back, as he looked down and into the boy's blue eyes with a fanged grin. His toddler counterpart was on the other side of the small clearing, sitting next to Clockwork with some blocks and a strange-looking can to amuse himself with. Clockwork, meanwhile, was sitting on the forest floor with an empty gaze, his tail lying limply to the side while his hands were folded in his lap and on top of his staff. Truthfully, he didn't look entirely there.

All at once fear hit him, and all at once it was replaced with dread and despair. He slouched slightly, hair slightly covering his face, before he glanced up between the raven strands to look at Dan. "What do you want now? You already took one of my best friends away from me. Are you going to kill Tucker in front of me next? Or maybe my family? Clockwork, somehow? Or why not all of them?"

With each question, Danny found himself laughing and crying at the same time, hopelessness draping itself over him like a wool blanket. But when Dan shook his head, Danny felt the smallest prick of morbid curiosity through that thick blanket.

"Danny, as much as I'd love to leave you in the most carefully crafted basket of despair, self-hatred, and darkness as I possibly could, I don't think our audience would stick around that long." Dan said, causing Danny to shift his broken gaze to the time ghost, asking why he was there with his eyes.

"...If I don't do this, then Dan will not go through with what I need him to do." Clockwork's voice seemed so distant, and his gaze so gone, despite the fact that he was looking directly into the teen halfa's eyes.

Betrayal stabbed Danny right through the chest as he processed every possible meaning those words could have, only one shining through and causing emotion to take hold of the halfa, desperate to regain someone to cling onto whether he knew it or not. "I thought you were my friend, Clockwork. You can't just sit there and watch me die! What could be so important that you need me to die for it!?"

"Something more important than false friendship, Daniel." Danny cringed at those words, and the harsh use of his name. "And even if we were true friends, it would have only been temporary. Everything is temporary. Friends, family, life, and even time. I stopped having friends a while ago, Daniel. As soon as I became the master of time. I apologize for fooling you... You won't have to live with that betrayal for much longer."

Danny was speechless as he stared with wide eyes at the time master, unable to fathom what he had just heard. He searched those solid red eyes for an emotion, any emotion or sign to tell him that this was a ploy. That this was all some elaborate scheme to get him out of this mess and save him and his friends from the nightmare he had to be having.

But those eyes remained void, even as they turned away from his now silently weeping face, and looked up at Dan. "If you're done watching the show, can we get this over with? I do have a schedule to keep."

Dan snorted. "No need to be that way, seeing as you asked for this in the first place."

Turning back to the tied up halfa, Dan knelt before the teen with a sinister smile. He ruffled Danny's hair, causing the back of his head to smack against the tree a few times, before he place a hand to his chest and allowed energy to build in his palm.

The feeling started warm, before slowly approaching a feeling of burning. Danny grit his teeth together, tears still flowing down his face, but he forced himself to meet the man's wrongly gleeful eyes. And the last thing he heard was Dan, speaking to him as if he were a child. "You were a good kid Danny, but tonight you will not die the hero."

And in those last moments, Danny looked over the full ghost's shoulder and saw himself. The young, toddler version of himself was looking at him, smiling in naïve awe, with the time master sitting beside him, empty eyes staring through everything around them. And just before he died, he could have sworn he saw the elder ghost wipe at his eyes.


	12. Epilogue

The tower was quiet, as a blankly staring Clockwork flicked through various timelines, all at once. There were countless screens covering the tower walls now, the only places where there were none being the doorways and the floor. Most of the clocks were broken as well, and gears lied strewn about the floor. But those things weren't important. Only the web of timelines was important.

 _'Webs...'_ He subconsciously corrected, remembering the duplicate he had in another room, watching a completely different set of screens, of which watched over a new web of timelines, still small and little more than 10 years old.

And inside one of the many lines, within that young web, was a full ghost and his child, eating breakfast at a table they'd built together. In 12 more minutes they would be getting up to clean, before they would head towards the laboratory in their basement. Once inside, they would make their way to a hole in the wall, and the full ghost would flip a switch, turning that space into a gateway between worlds.

The child would then turn into his ghostly half, a form with snow-white hair, crimson eyes, dagger-like fangs, and a core of the darkest ice, before he would follow the full ghost through the portal. The two would then explore it, and laugh while leaving destruction in their wake, taking the lives of many of this other world's inhabitants, guilty or not, like one great big game. And once they were done they would return home, and do the same to the people of their world.

And Clockwork would just watch them, his gaze lifeless, as his timelines continued to move along in perfect order, no errors or forced branches to be seen. Everyone would follow the paths set in place for them with little care, and no knowledge as to where the path may lead, just as the Observants had wanted them to in the first place.

And every once in a while, said Observants would come in and double-check the time master's work while asking about the previously prevented errors, new timelines, if he was feeling alright, or some other nonsense before leaving after receiving no response other than a rueful muttering of. "Everything is all as it's supposed to be, just like you asked."

And every passing moment, once he'd returned to his solitude, he would get this feeling. This feeling that left him wondering if everything really was in its place. If everything really was "as it's supposed to be." And this would lead to the time master double, and occasionally triple, checking his work, searching for anything he could have possibly missed in his prevention of flaws in the Observants wanted timeline. And, as he would do so, he would begin to wonder about the strangest things.

Like his friend.

He wondered how his friend was doing, and where he was. He wondered if he was with his other friends, or coming to visit him in his clock tower to bring his unique self and his wonderfully, nigh unpredictable, nature, courtesy of his special gift and the time master's help. He would even wonder if the boy would decide to stay once he arrived for a few hours and talk to him. When was the last time he held a conversation lasting for more than a sentence? ...When had he last held a conversation?

And that question would then remind Clockwork of a very important detail: He didn't have any friends.

As the master of time, Clockwork didn't have the time or need for friendship. His purpose was to keep time stable, and watch that full ghost and his child for whatever reason he couldn't bother to, or wanted to, remember. It was what he was always supposed to do, and straying from that now to go and make friends would be like taking a well-paying job and stepping on it to sit inside of a house and do absolutely nothing for the rest of his life.

He didn't have friends, he didn't want friends, and he didn't need friends. He had the timeline. That was all he had, wanted, and needed... Wasn't it?

Looking back at the ghost and his child, Clockwork couldn't help but focus on the young halfa. He was an 11 year-old-boy on the screen he was watching, his human half with raven hair and bright blue eyes. He was always happy, especially when he was in the ghost zone with his father. And while normally Clockwork was never concerned with people, much less children, something about him was familiar.

But, of course, that was bound to happen. It only makes sense that, at some point in time, people would look alike. And Clockwork's seen literally everyone that was, is, and will be, so it shouldn't have been that big a deal. But it was, and it made so little sense that the time master actually hurt inside.

His very core ached with the absurdity of this one child seeming familiar to him. But then... was that really the reason? Or was it because this child reminded him of his friend? And then Clockwork would remember, and he would remind himself as his duplicates became one again. "I have no friends... Not anymore."


End file.
